Border area (3)

The border area is quite far from Helios.

This school is surrounded by a large forest to the north, and if you walk along the trail here, you will come to the village of the hunting ground keeper who manages the border area.

There are only a few huts in the village, but if you walk 30 minutes further north to avoid them, you can reach the entrance to the border area.

“Wow. The atmosphere is bloody.”

A dreary chill pervaded all around.

The sky was gloomy as if it would rain at any moment, and the air I inhaled was mixed with demonic energy and made my throat tingle.

“I guess it’s a barrier from here.”

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Jason approached the sign posted at the entrance to the forest.

The sign on which the beast’s skull was hung had the words ‘No access’ written in red.

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Judging from the feeling of strange magic, it was possible to know that it was a milestone announcing the beginning of the barrier.

If you enter blindly, the barrier’s ‘wandering path’ effect will activate and you will return to this place after wandering through the forest for about 30 minutes.

And it is a bonus that the hunting ground keepers, who noticed the barrier’s operation, warmly welcomed it.

“Now. It’s your turn.”

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Jason pushed Cynthia from behind.

Her face was still disapproving, and her complexion grew even worse when she saw the signs and barriers.

“·······.”

“What are you doing? If you hesitate, the keepers of the hunting grounds will come.”

“You must keep your promise.”

“Appointment?”

“…Promise that if it’s dangerous, you’ll protect me…”

“Ah. I get it, so just do it quickly. Anyway, I’m very suspicious of anyone who isn’t a commoner.”

Cynthia glared at Jason for a moment, but without saying a word, she summoned her magic.

Magic that glowed purple drew a magic circle, and the remaining crackling magic began to distort the power of the barrier.

Quite right.

Estelle was watching him with a look of surprise.

I didn’t know it because I was called a commoner, but my skills in mana handling were at a level for a student.

‘Not as much as me.’

I’m already sweating profusely. I think this is my strength.

Estelle didn’t learn barrier magic separately, but she guessed the difficulty and effect just by glancing at the magic circle.

If you put your mind to it, it was at a level that could be reproduced right away.

“Hey, can I talk to you?”

“…?”

At that time, Jason took advantage of a brief gap to talk.

He was looking at Estelle with a kind smile.

“Let me formally greet you. I’m Jason from Dalton.”

“Yes, bye.”

Estelle’s voice was cold.

She did not want to mix words with this chaff.

“That commoner, even if he looks like that, his barrier magic is quite good. We plan to bring him here often in the future.”

“therefore?”

“Wouldn’t you join too?”

He said with his eyes shining darkly.

“You know, if we catch the Witchbeast, we can grow faster. Much faster than just learning regular school courses.”

“·······.”

Estelle listened silently.

Perhaps taking that as interest, Jason excitedly continued.

“Your goal is to ‘ascend’ and become a Constellation? We don’t want that much, but we want to get good grades and become an apostle of a high Constellation. What we want is similar.”

“What do you want to say?”

“I will help you.”

He smiled and held out his hand.

“I want to have a good relationship with Altair.”

“·······.”

She stared blankly at the outstretched hand.

Estelle, who blinked a couple of times, replied indifferently, as if ignoring it.

“report.”

“hahahaha. Think slowly.”

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Jason backed off meekly, but Estelle saw his eyes twitch.

He was probably angry at the thought of being ignored.

‘Who is helping whom?’

She looked around at the children gathered around her.

All of them are human beings who are firmly united by the children of the nobility, self-esteem and the sense of the chosen people.

Already forming a faction and trying to get ahead of others, didn’t we start with the consciousness that we were different from other guys?

I didn’t mean to say they were wrong.

However, inserting yourself into it was never a specification.

you need to know the subject

Altair was not in a position where someone like Jason, who was only a freshman, could reach out.

‘I don’t know if it’s that professor.’

She recalled Kang Yoo-jin’s lecture this afternoon.

Extensive knowledge and a fresh approach to the Witchbeast, and mana management beyond common sense.

In addition, there are professor positions in core subjects.

‘That should be enough.’

Estelle’s head, which blocked access from those around her, was filled with Professor Yujin Kang before she knew it.

paper weave-

At that time, a faint sound of sparks could be heard as if all barriers had been pierced.

In front of her, Cynthia, who had unlocked the magic circle, was breathing heavily and wiping cold sweat.

“It’s done…”

“great.”

The barrier-pierced entrance swayed like mushy jelly, reflecting the scenery on the other side.

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Jason led the way there, followed by the other children.

Each one is full of expectations and has no idea that they will be wrong.

Seeing that, Estelle shook her head and followed.

“Hey. Aren’t you going?”

“Huh? Ehh… Go, I have to go…”

Cynthia, who was standing awkwardly, moved forward with a shrunken look when Estelle urged her.

The reaction was that he was not willing to go in even if he pretended to.

“Why did you do something you hate so much?”

“There are circumstances…”

“what is that?”

“You… don’t you know?”

“What?”

“about me···.”

“Why should I know that?”

After proudly revealing her indifference, Cynthia was at a loss for words.

Estelle looked at her with narrow eyes.

Dark eyes with black hair. There are old and tattered school uniforms.

It’s an ugly look, but more than anything, the energy I felt from her was unusual.

“you.”

“Uh, huh?”

“No. Let’s go in.”

It seemed that he knew roughly what weakness Cynthia had. At the same time, he grasped that she was not even a normal person.

But that was it.

Estelle was completely indifferent to others, and Cynthia was the same.

There was a long silence after that.

No matter how well-maintained the forest was, they knew that this place had a witch, and it was foolish to make noise in a place where the witch was.

The darkness grew thicker as we went inside, and the Milky Way in the night sky could no longer illuminate the future.

The forest, completely covered with darkness, was silent, and the silence, where even the sound of speech was gone, added to the silence and seemed to weigh heavily on the shoulders.

sabaksabak-

at some point.

Signs different from the sound of their footsteps began to appear one by one.

“It came out.”

-Kurrureu…

From the other side of the bush, along with the cry of the beast, a terrifying eye light flashed.

What eventually emerged from the darkness was a wolf with a terrible appearance covered in black tentacles.

In fact, it wasn’t even a wolf. The only thing that looked similar was the wolf.

It is impossible to fully capture the demon’s appearance through language.

The children’s faces hardened slightly. It was because the appearance of the Witchbeast he saw for the first time was more terrifying than he could have imagined.

But even for a moment, Jason, who was leading the way, quietly shouted.

“attack!”

The voice woke my mind.

All of the children, including Jason, used their innate abilities, and swords, spears, and magic flooded the beasts with a soft glow.

The monster moved swiftly, but the tentacle monster resembling a wolf couldn’t hold out for long because there was no business in the stock, and a hole in the waist pierced it, and it collapsed.

“Heh. What is it? It’s not a big deal, is it?”

“I was scared for nothing.”

The guys smirked when they saw the fallen Witchbeast.

After that, three or four more appeared, but no dangerous situation occurred.

As soon as they all appeared, their heads and torsos died.

“As expected, it feels different from when you only practice day and night, isn’t it?”

“hahahaha! I’m glad you came!”

The children were all laughing.

Unlike tediously learning theories and practicing in the air, there was a thrilling pleasure in catching a real beast.

Everyone was engrossed in witchcraft, but two people weren’t.

Such was Cynthia, who was falling behind with a grim face, and Estelle, who was looking at them expressionlessly.

More than anything, Estelle knew that the current situation was not very good.

‘Spider-wolf. A low-level witch.’

Her family, Altair, was the chairman of Helios, and at the same time, it was also a hunter family that spearheaded the battlefield.

She had excellent qualities from a young age, and had experience catching witches as part of her education.

That’s why it wasn’t that new to see witches, and there were many cases where some witches were even aware of their habits.

And those monsters called spider wolves were originally grouped and hunted.

It is sensitive to the smell of people and blood, and is intelligent enough to start a search battle by sending out a few baits.

And if the opponent is drunk with victory and wants to lose their guard, then it’s only then that they start attacking.

like right now

– aaang!

“What…!”

A magical beast that suddenly jumped out opened its mouth at a student.

Before her razor-like teeth gnawed at her head, Estelle’s hand swung one step faster.

Hwaaak!

Brilliant golden flames raged and engulfed the Witchbeast.

Starting with the Witchbeast, which instantly turned into ashes, the flames swirled and spread in all directions.

The Witchbeast, swept away by her madness, burned and disappeared without leaving any form.

“Whoa, whoa.”

“As expected, Altair…”

Star fire.

Called the spark of the stars, Estelle’s unique ability.

The fire of judgment that never goes out and burns even the enemy’s soul danced along with Estelle’s gestures.

“huh.”

Except for Estelle and the children, everything around them turned to ashes.

The blue eyes looking down on them were directed at the witches.

“Is it over?”

The witches took a step back.

As the frightened men tried to retreat, a larger monster appeared.

They advanced, stomping on the escaped entity, roaring and sticking out their ferocious teeth.

– Kii Ik!!

“·······.”

A hideous appearance resembling a giant spider.

Estelle’s eyes narrowed when she saw the witch called ‘Shlop’.

‘Intermediate level witch?’

Why is the middle class here?

It’s dangerous, and there’s a risk of tearing the barrier, so it must be a monster that will kill everyone during the winter subjugation period.

I didn’t have a good feeling, maybe it was because I heard that there was also an upper-middle class recently.

“I… I know that. It’s a mid-level magic beast, Shelop…”

“I’m sure it’s only the lowest or lowest class!”

“Hey! Jason! How did this happen!”

The children screamed in surprise, but there was no way they knew anything about Jason.

It’s the same as seeing the witch for the first time.

Because I couldn’t have predicted this situation.

“I-I can’t do this…?”

He could hear Jason’s bewildered voice, but Estelle didn’t care.

Whether it’s lower or middle class, if it’s in front of you, you’ll just kill it.

A large torch lit up following her crossed hands.

– Kii Ik!!

Shelob, impaled by the torch, struggled in the flames and disappeared.

The rest of them fought against the flames, spewing poison and thread, but they couldn’t pierce Estelle’s torch.

Altair’s brilliant talent was not something that only intermediate level players could overcome.

While Estelle was cleaning up the demons, a commotion broke out in the back.

“This is not my fault! It’s because that commoner broke through the barrier strangely!”

“No… I did it right!”

“Shut up! The commoner doesn’t even know what to do!”

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Jason grabbed Cynthia and threw her to the floor.

He needed someone to blame in order to avoid responsibility, and he chose Cynthia, who was innocent but easygoing.

‘It’s pitiful.’

Frankly, it was ugly.

It’s like taking out your anger on someone else after doing something you can’t handle.

The ugliness was unpleasant to see and hear, so Estelle’s beautiful armie frowned.

‘I want to listen to the professor’s lecture.’

If it wasn’t for the notes, I wouldn’t come to a place like this.

She pouted as she complained inwardly.

“Kyaaak!”

At that time, Cynthia, pushed by Jason, fell on the ground screaming.

As soon as she unconsciously looked away, Estelle’s eyes lit up when she saw the notebook that had fallen from Cynthia’s arms.

No, why did you bring that here!?

“ah···!”

Cynthia, who frantically picked up the notebook, was pushed further away by Jason.

Seeing this, Estelle’s eyes sparked.

‘My notes!’

A note containing the contents of the professor’s early lectures, which I did not hear.

If Cynthia is attacked as it is, the note will disappear as well.

If the note disappears, the reason she came here disappears.

“Chit…!”

There are many witches. She couldn’t afford to look elsewhere, but Estelle moved her hand.

It’s because Cynthia fell out of the group because of stupid Jason.

Roaring!

The holy fire swept away the magic beasts that were gathering at Cynthia.

However, perhaps because of the hasty operation of the flame, a gap was formed in the wall of the torch that was blocking Shelob.

They didn’t miss a chance, and the venom-infused spider’s web grazed Estelle’s arm.

“Ugh…!”

I quickly burned the cobwebs, but the poison had already penetrated and my arms began to twitch.

Estelle, who was in great pain, swung the flame again.

However, due to the poison, the operation of magical power was slow, and the flames did not produce as much firepower as she thought.

bang!

“Ouch···!”

Shelob burst through the flames and pushed her down.

I tried to stand up straight away, but the poisoned body didn’t listen.

Shelob’s teeth rushed in front of her motionless eyes.

‘ah.’

die? so awkward?

His wide-open eyes slowly took pictures of the approaching beast like slow motion.

Before long, I closed my eyes tightly at the pain that was about to come.

And.

Taang!!

Gunshots rang out.

“…?”

Shelop fell, his head exploding, blood spraying in all directions.

Estelle, who was drenched in blood all of a sudden, blinked in bewilderment.

so much-

Footsteps were heard.

He walked over to Estelle and threw the corpse that crushed her.

The demon beast that was thrown hit a nearby wooden pole and was crushed.

“·······.”

And Estelle saw.

All the children there saw it.

a worn hat.

Leather boots and gloves.

And, a thick black coat.

Yujin Kang was there.

“I’ll listen to the defense later.”